3D printing company Deezmaker has launched a Kickstarter campaign for Maker Muscle, a cheap and customizable actuator made with 3D printed mounts and attachments.

We haven’t heard much from 3D printing company Deezmaker, creator of the Bukito portable mini 3D printer, over the last few years. But that doesn’t mean that the company and its head honcho Diego Porqueras haven’t been hard at work—in all areas of DIY fabrication.

Need proof? Well, roboticists will be pleased to hear that the company is currently midway through a Kickstarter campaign for what could be the world’s first customizable actuator for makers.

It’s not a new Deezmaker 3D printer then, but the Maker Muscle actuator has its roots in 3D scanning, and was even made with the help of 3D printing. In other words, its a tool that fits squarely within our areas of interest—and probably yours too.

“I started this project because of a need I had while building a 3D scanner for scanning people, simply put: a 3D selfie robot,” Porqueras explains. “When I went to look for actuators, I found the selection was very limited and I got quoted for hundreds or thousands of dollars for a customized actuator.”

Because of this, 3D printing expert Porqueras decided to create an actuator of his own—with a little help from Kickstarter (and a 3D printer).

The Deezmaker chief says he designed the Maker Muscle to be “a fully customizable actuator solution” that means you don’t have to adjust your project to fit the actuator. Conversely, you simply adjust the actuator to fit your project.

You can use the device for lots of things too. in Porqueras’ own words, “anything you need help moving, an actuator can probably come to the rescue.”

Being involved with the 3D printing industry, it’s no surprise that Porqueras used additive manufacturing equipment when designing the Maker Muscle actuator. Although the aluminum core of the actuator isn’t printed, Porqueras says he 3D printed some “body housings” during R&D for the device. Several accessories, mounts, and attachments for the Maker Muscle will also be 3D printable.

Add in the affordable price of the Maker Muscle ($15+ for the “core”; $74+ for a “basics kit”), and you can see why other people have been keen to get on board with the project: at present, Porqueras has raised almost $11,000 of his $25,000 goal for the Maker Muscle.

The Maker Muscle Kickstarter campaign is approaching the half-way point of its $25,000 goal, with just over half (16 days) of the campaign left to run. This means that, while the project is more-or-less on track, it could be a close finish for Porqueras and his actuator.

Backers looking to secure a Maker Muscle actuator have a huge range of packages to choose from, some of which will ship as soon as July 2017.

I, too, have long been puzzled over the high pricing for a custom actuator. The housing and tube are really the only parts that need to be customized. A custom assembly only really requires that these two parts be cut to length.
So, what the Kickstarter project s proposing, is very standard in the industry. I assume that the big boys have engineers that tell you all sorts of engineering numbers about your assemlby, and can spot if you are trying to buy something that would not work well. So, Porqueras is probably eliminating that cost.
Of course, the big question is if Porqueras can sell the system at a dramatically lower price than the big boys.

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